MaxPreps Top 25 high school baseball national rankings

Argyle (Texas) made it through another tournament unscathed, reeling off five wins last week at the Collin County Tournament to remain unbeaten and atop the MaxPreps Top 25 national high school baseball rankings.

The Eagles get a big test this weekend heading to Dallas for the Highland Park Tournament. Argyle meets some of the top 6A programs in the state when it plays Keller, Prosper, Dallas Jesuit, Carroll (Southlake), Coppell and Rockwall during the three-day tournament.

No. 2 IMG Academy (Bradenton, Fla.) could be poised to take over the top spot in the rankings should Argyle fall, but the Ascenders have a tough schedule of their own, playing in the Perfect Game Showdown at Hoover. IMG is in the same pool as Coffee (Douglas, Ga.) and Troup County (La Grange) and could face the likes of Bob Jones (Madison, Ala.), Hoover (Ala.) or Blessed Trinity (Roswell, Ga.) in the bracketed portion of the tournament.




High risers: George County (Lucedale, Miss.) from No. 25 to No. 14.

Game of the Week: La Cueva (Albuquerque) def. Cibola, 6-5. After Cibola scored two runs in the top of the eighth inning to take a 5-3 lead, the defending Class 6A state champions scored three runs in the bottom of the inning to claim the win in both teams' opener. La Cueva tied the game on a bases loaded hit by a pitch. Ben Schoneman drove in the winning run with a ground ball to left field.

Performance of the Week: Chad Ricker of Argyle. Besides striking out nine in a win over San Angelo, Ricker also drove in two runs against Centennial and had two home runs against Heritage.

Prospect Watch: Jimmy Lewis of Lake Travis. In seven games last week, all wins, Lewis was 12-for-19 (.632 average), with 13 RBI, six doubles, and one home run. He also picked up a pitching win, striking out 11 and allowing only one hit with no earned runs.

Game to Watch: Huntington Beach (Calif.) vs. JSerra Catholic (San Juan Capistrano, Calif.) on Tuesday. Two of the top programs in Orange County tangle in a nonleague matchup. Huntington Beach has lost just one game (to Orange Lutheran) while JSerra Catholic is 4-6 after dropping five games on a Southeast swing through Georgia and Alabama.

Top tournaments: Perfect Game Showdown (Hoover, Ala.). Top teams include No. 2 IMG Academy, No. 7 DeSoto Central, No. 10 Blessed Trinity, and No. 11 Parkview. Highland Park Tournament (Dallas). Teams include No. 1 Argyle, No. 13 Georgetown, and defending Texas 6A state champion Carroll (Southlake).



MaxPreps Top 25 national high school baseball rankings

1. (Last week 1) Argyle (Texas), 9-0-1
Results: Defeated Liberty (Frisco) 4-0; defeated San Angelo Central 8-4; defeated The Colony 10-0; defeated Centennial (Frisco) 5-2; defeated Heritage (Frisco) 15-5.
Stats: Tate Van Poppel went six innings for the win over Liberty, striking out seven, Brenden Dixon was 2-for-3 with a triple and Cade Merka had a double. Chad Ricker got the win and struck out nine against San Angelo Central. Austin King had a double and two RBIs against The Colony. Dixon had a triple and Ricker drove in two runs against Centennial. Ricker had two home runs against Heritage.
This week: Highland Park Tournament — Keller and Prosper on Thursday, Dallas Jesuit and Carroll (Southlake) on Friday, Coppell and Rockwall on Saturday.

2. (2) IMG Academy (Bradenton, Fla.), 2-0
Results: Defeated Ida Baker (Cape Coral) 3-0; defeated Archbishop McCarthy (Fort Lauderdale) 12-0.
Stats: Kyle Westfall was 2-for-3, 2 doubles; Brennan Malone, six innings, seven strikeouts against Ida Baker. Will Bartlett was 2-for-3, 3 runs, 2 RBIs; Rece Hinds, 2-for-4, 1 run, RBI; Jimmy Starnes, five innings, five strikeouts.
This week: Perfect Game Showdown — Coffee (Douglas, Ga.) and Troup County (La Grange) on Thursday.

3. (4) Sam Houston (Lake Charles, La.), 10-0
Results: The Broncos put together three shutouts last week, giving them five in a row. They defeated St. Louis Catholic (Lake Charles) 13-0 in non-conference play. At the Sulphur Tournament, they defeated Goose Creek Memorial (Baytown, Texas) 14-0; West Brook (Beaumont, Texas) 7-0; defeated Catholic (Baton Rouge) 5-2; beat Live Oak 3-0.
Stats: Austin Norris went 2-for-3 with a home run and three RBIs and Will Thompson threw a five-inning one-hitter with five strikeouts against St. Louis Catholic. Marcus Mott was 3-for-4 with two RBIs against Goose Creek Memorial. Cameron Meeks was 2-for-3 with two triples and an RBI against West Brook. Meeks had a two-hitter against Live Oak.
This week: Academy of the Sacred Heart on Tuesday; East Ascension on Thursday, Archbishop Shaw on Friday.

4. (6) Lake Travis (Austin, Texas), 13-0
Results: Cavaliers won five more games during the week. Defeated Akins (Austin) 5-1; defeated Vista Ridge (Cedar Park) 17-1; defeated Round Rock 9-8; defeated Lewisville 16-0; defeated Round Rock Westwood (Austin) 9-1; defeated Taft (San Antonio) 12-0, and McNeil 5-2.
Stats: Austin Plante and Jack Lopez both went 2-for-3 with a double against Akins. Brett Baty was 3-for-3 with a home run and three RBIs; Jimmy Lewis was 3-for-3 with two doubles, one home run and six RBIs against Vista Ridge; Plante was 2-for-3 with a double, a triple and two RBIs; Lewis was 3-for-4 with three RBIs against Round Rock. Baty was 3-for-3 with a home run and five RBIs against Lewisville. Lewis was 2-for-3 with two doubles against Round Rock Westwood. Baty and Lewis each doubled against Taft and Kyle Boyer had two hits and two RBIs against McNeil.
This week: Austin on Tuesday.

5. (12) Calvary Christian (Clearwater, Fla.), 2-0
Results: Defeated Brooks DeBartolo Collegiate (Tampa) 10-0 in opener; beat Cardinal Mooney, 3-0.
Stats: Nolan Hudi went four innings and struck out eight for the win over Brooks. Tommy White was 2-for-3 with two doubles. Samuel Gordon was 2-for-4 with a double against Cardinal Mooney.
This week: Lovett (Atlanta) on Monday, Tampa Catholic (Tampa) on Tuesday, Pace Academy (Atlanta) on Saturday.

6. (13) New Hanover (Wilmington, N.C.), 2-0
Results: The Wildcats opened with a 5-2 win over Western Harnett (Lillington); defeated Jacksonville 10-3.
Stats: Blake Walston struck out 13 and walked none in 5.2 innings for the win. Kyle Smith had a triple and four RBIs against Jacksonville.
This week: Clayton on Tuesday and Havelock on Friday.



7. (16) DeSoto Central (Southaven, Miss.), 4-0
Results: Posted double-figure run totals in three games, beating Lake Cormorant 21-0, Southaven 12-0 and Hernando 13-3. On Saturday, the Jaguars defeated Florence 4-3 and Germantown 3-0.
Stats: Blaze Jordan went 3-for-5 with a double, triple and home run and three RBIs, while Kamren James was 4-for-5 with a home run and four RBIs against Lake Cormorant. Connar Gardner had three doubles against Southaven, while Dylan Hale hit a home run against Hernando. James struck out 13 against Germantown.
This week: Kossuth on Monday, Perfect Game Showdown starts Thursday.

8. (3) Colleyville Heritage (Colleyville, Texas), 8-1
Results: Defeated Martin (Arlington) 13-5; defeated Coronado (Lubbock) 5-0; defeated Arlington 11-2; defeated North Crowley 9-7; lost to Oak Ridge (Conroe) 4-1.
Stats: Chandler Freeman was 3-for-3 with a double, home run and 3 RBIs and also got pitching win, Bobby Witt was 2-for-3 with a double, two RBIs against Martin. Witt was 2-for-4 with a double, home run and two RBIs against Coronado. Jacob Guerrero was 2-for-3 with a double and two RBIs against Arlington. Mason Greer and Logan Britt each hit home runs against North Crowley.
This week: at First Bank Classic.

9. (5) Harvard-Westlake (Studio City, Calif.), 6-1
Results: Split a doubleheader with Birmingham (Lake Balboa), winning 9-5 and losing 11-4.
Stats: JP Corrigan had a triple and Sam Biller had a double in the win; Sam Hliboki took the loss, Pete Crow-Armstrong went 3-for-3 and had a triple.
This week: Crespi (Encino) on Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday.

10. (8) Blessed Trinity (Roswell, Ga.), 9-2
Results: The Titans went 4-0 at the Georgia Peach Invitational, including a big win over host Parkview. Blessed Trinity beat River Ridge (Woodstock) 5-4, St. Pius X Catholic (Atlanta) 7-5, Parkview (Lilburn) 6-2 and Lambert (Suwanee) 8-1, but lost to Loganville 11-9.
Stats: Michael Mitchler went 2-for-3 against River Ridge. Bret Buursema was 2-for-3 with a home run and three RBIs against St. Pius X Catholic. CJ Abrams was 2-for-4 with a double and an RBIs and Steele Chambers was 2-for-3 with a double against Parkview. Chambers, DJ Radtke and Jack Stephans all homered against Lambert. Abrams and Chambers each doubled against Loganville.
This week: Perfect Game Showdown.

11. (10) Parkview (Lilburn, Ga.), 6-1
Results: The Panthers opened the week with a 3-2 win over JSerra Catholic (San Juan Capistrano) and then split two games on Friday at the Georgia Peach Invitational, losing to Blessed Trinity (Roswell) 6-2 and beating Lambert (Suwanee) 9-3; defeated Northside 11-1.
Stats: Jon Ponder went 1-for-3 with a home run and two RBIs against JSerra Catholic. Stephen Hrustich and Makenzie Pate both hit home runs against Blessed Trinity. Pate and James Whitmer both had two doubles and Ponder had a double and a triple against Lambert. Hrustich had a triple and a home run and four RBI against Northside.
This week: Grayson (Loganville) on Tuesday, Perfect Game Showdown starting on Thursday.

12. (15) Mountain Vista (Highlands Ranch, Colo.), 0-0
First Game: Golden Eagles play Chatfield (Littleton, Colo.) on Thursday.
13. (NR) Georgetown (Texas), 10-0-1
Results: Defeated Brenham 15-4, tied Lamar 4-4, defeated Cedar Park 9-2, defeated Santa Fe 10-1 and defeated Coppell 4-1.
Stats: Noah Thompson was 3-for-3 with a double and a triple against Coppell. Cole Posey was 2-for-4 with two doubles and two RBIs against Santa Fe. Jackson Sioson was 3-for-4 with a double and an RBI against Cedar Park. Posey hit a home run and went 3-for-3 with three RBIs against Brenham.
This week: At Highland Park Tournament starting Thursday.



14. (25) George County (Lucedale, Miss.), 5-0
Results: The Rebels won all three games last week, beating Theodore (Ala.) 6-5, Greene County (Leakesville, Miss.) 6-1 and 11-1.
Stats: Logan Tanner had a home run and three RBIs against Theodore. Trevor McDonald struck out 13 and had a triple in the first game against Green County. Ethan Coleman had a home run and three RBIs in the second game.
This week: Plays Meridian on Tuesday and Friday and Poplarville on Thursday.

15. (NR) Saint Francis (Mountain View, Calif.), 5-0
Results: Defeated Mountain View 6-1, defeated King's Academy (Sunnyvale) 14-1, and defeated De La Salle (Concord) 3-2.
Stats: Jeter Ybarra went 3-for-4 with a double and an RBIs against King's Academy. Michael Leahy was 2-for-3 against De La Salle.
This week: Santa Cruz on Tuesday; Capuchino (San Bruno) on Thursday.

16. (NR) La Costa Canyon (Carlsbad, Calif.), 5-0
Results: Defeated El Capitan 13-3, Santana 6-4 and Rancho Bernardo 5-2.
Stats: Max Stanley had two triples against El Capitan, Spencer Jones had a home run against Santana.
This week: Poway on Tuesday, Vista on Friday.

17. (22) Owasso (Okla.), 1-0
Results: Opened season with 10-0 win over Oologah.
Stats: Jack Hammond was 3-for-5 with two RBIs while Pepe Casey was 2-for-3 with two doubles.
This week: Plays Stillwater on Wednesday and Thursday, Coweta on Friday, and Edmond Santa Fe and Edmond North on Saturday.

18. (23) La Cueva (Albuquerque), 1-0
Results: Defeated Cibola 6-5 in opener with three runs in bottom of the eighth.
Stats: Phoenix Autrey had two doubles and Ben Schoneman struck out 11 in the win.
This week: Bears play Atrisco Heritage on Tuesday and Highland on Wednesday.

19. (18) Palo Verde (Las Vegas), 0-0
First Game: Plays Desert Oasis (Las Vegas) March 12.



20. (20) Delbarton (Morristown, N.J.), 0-0
First Game: The Green Wave opens against Morris Hills (Rockaway) on March 16.

21. (9) Cypress Ranch (Houston), 7-2
Results: The Mustangs lost for the second time this season, falling to host Katy at the Katy ISD Tournament. They opened the week with an 11-1 district win over Langham Creek (Houston), beat Westside (Houston) 7-0 at the Katy tournament on Friday and lost to Katy 5-4. Played Spring Woods (Houston) Saturday and won 14-0.
Stats: Matt Thompson struck out eight for the win against Langham Creek. Jake Hymel also went 4-for-4 with a double and triple. J.J. Goss struck out 13 in the win over Westside. Colton Owen was 3-for-4 with a double, a home run and two RBIs. Thompson and Fabian Mayfield both hit home runs in the loss to Katy. Mayfield had two home runs and Thompson had a triple against Spring Woods.
This week: District game against Langham Creek on Tuesday; Barbers Hill Tournament starts Thursday.

22. (7) Orange Lutheran (Orange, Calif.), 4-2
Results: The Lancers lost their only game last week, falling to Cypress 2-1 in a nonleague game.
Stats: Carl Lawson was 2-for-3 with a double.
This week: Orange Lutheran does not play again until March 12 Trinity League contest against Santa Margarita.

23. (NR) Huntington Beach (Calif.), 6-1
Results: Defeated Poly (Riverside) 12-1 and Laguna Beach 6-0. Only loss is to Orange Lutheran and also has win over Orange Lutheran.
Stats: Josh Hahn, Shane Stafford and Brett Barrera all had a home run each against Poly with Barrera also adding a double. Hahn and Cole Minato also hit a home run each against Laguna Beach.
This week: JSerra Catholic (San Juan Capistrano) on Tuesday; Newport Harbor on Wednesday; Marina (Huntington Beach) on Friday.

24. (NR) Barbe (Lake Charles, La.), 7-1
Results: At the Sulphur Tournament, Barbe went 4-0 with a 5-0 win over Jasper (Texas), a 4-1 win over Northshore (Slidell, La.), a 3-1 win over Catholic (Baton Rouge, La.) and a 10-1 win over West Brook (Beaumont, Texas).
This week: Glenmore on Tuesday.

25. (17) Har-Ber (Springdale, Ark.), 3-1
Results: The Wildcats opened with three straight wins before falling by one run to Jonesboro. They beat South Side (Bee Branch) 20-2, Russellville 7-5 and Marion 7-3, before falling to Jonesboro 11-10 at Prep Baseball Report Arkansas Select Tournament.
Stats: Blake Adams struck out 10 to get win over South Side. Rally Miller added two doubles. Hunter Wood and Sam Stephenson had a double each against Russellville. Kirby Jenkins blasted a grand slam against Marion. Miller and Jenkins each had three RBIs, while Adams had a triple against Jonesboro.